Claire L. Smith is an Australian writer and filmmaker whose various short stories and poetry are featured in publications such as Dark Marrow, Peculiars Magazine, The Horror Tree, Death and The Maiden, Moonchild Magazine and more. She currently oversees fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry at mental-health awareness publication, Peculiars Magazine. Helena is her debut novella.

"Claire L. Smith's Helena is a sharp, poignant story that is rich in lyrical language and lush imagery. The details and setting coalesce into a Victorian tale that feels like the lovechild of Emily Brontë and Mary Shelley. Readers will delight in being thrown into Helena's dark, poetic world with a witty protagonist and a cast of characters who are impossible not to fall in love with. Easily one of my favorite reads of 2020 -- a beautiful work of modern Gothic literature that is not to be missed." — Sara Tantlinger, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Devil's Dreamland "A stark, gothic fairy tale for all lovers of the macabre, with language as comforting and hypnotizing as a cemetery at sundown. Helena is genuinely scary and will dance and haunt inside your darkest dreams." —  John Palisano, Bram Stoker Award-Winning author of Ghost Heart / President, Horror Writers Association "A hauntingly beautiful debut, Helena by Claire L. Smith invites readers into a Gothic tale of death, mourning, and ritual, one that is an absolute treat for those who like their coffins handmade and their tea with a touch of lavender and ghosts." —  Stephanie M. Wytovich, author of Mourning Jewelry and Sheet Music to My Acoustic Nightmare

Claire L. Smith is an Australian writer and filmmaker whose various short stories and poetry are featured in publications such as Dark Marrow, Peculiars Magazine, The Horror Tree, Death and The Maiden, Moonchild Magazine and more. She currently oversees fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry at mental-health awareness publication, Peculiars Magazine. Helena is her debut novella.

"Claire L. Smith's Helena is a sharp, poignant story that is rich in lyrical language and lush imagery. The details and setting coalesce into a Victorian tale that feels like the lovechild of Emily Brontë and Mary Shelley. Readers will delight in being thrown into Helena's dark, poetic world with a witty protagonist and a cast of characters who are impossible not to fall in love with. Easily one of my favorite reads of 2020 -- a beautiful work of modern Gothic literature that is not to be missed." — Sara Tantlinger, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Devil's Dreamland "A stark, gothic fairy tale for all lovers of the macabre, with language as comforting and hypnotizing as a cemetery at sundown. Helena is genuinely scary and will dance and haunt inside your darkest dreams." —  John Palisano, Bram Stoker Award-Winning author of Ghost Heart / President, Horror Writers Association "A hauntingly beautiful debut, Helena by Claire L. Smith invites readers into a Gothic tale of death, mourning, and ritual, one that is an absolute treat for those who like their coffins handmade and their tea with a touch of lavender and ghosts." —  Stephanie M. Wytovich, author of Mourning Jewelry and Sheet Music to My Acoustic Nightmare

Claire L. Smith is an Australian writer and filmmaker whose various short stories and poetry are featured in publications such as Dark Marrow, Peculiars Magazine, The Horror Tree, Death and The Maiden, Moonchild Magazine and more. She currently oversees fiction, creative nonfiction and poetry at mental-health awareness publication, Peculiars Magazine. Helena is her debut novella.

"Claire L. Smith's Helena is a sharp, poignant story that is rich in lyrical language and lush imagery. The details and setting coalesce into a Victorian tale that feels like the lovechild of Emily Brontë and Mary Shelley. Readers will delight in being thrown into Helena's dark, poetic world with a witty protagonist and a cast of characters who are impossible not to fall in love with. Easily one of my favorite reads of 2020 -- a beautiful work of modern Gothic literature that is not to be missed." — Sara Tantlinger, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Devil's Dreamland "A stark, gothic fairy tale for all lovers of the macabre, with language as comforting and hypnotizing as a cemetery at sundown. Helena is genuinely scary and will dance and haunt inside your darkest dreams." —  John Palisano, Bram Stoker Award-Winning author of Ghost Heart / President, Horror Writers Association "A hauntingly beautiful debut, Helena by Claire L. Smith invites readers into a Gothic tale of death, mourning, and ritual, one that is an absolute treat for those who like their coffins handmade and their tea with a touch of lavender and ghosts." —  Stephanie M. Wytovich, author of Mourning Jewelry and Sheet Music to My Acoustic Nightmare